ILOILO City – Firefighting has been a predominantly male profession. For years, the perception is that women aren’t simply up to the scorching demands of the job.
Think again. Western Visayas’ women blaze-busters are here to extinguish such notion.
Take it from Fire Chief Inspector Melanie Habawel, head of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Region 6 Directorial Staff.
She graduated with a nursing degree but “kabudlay gid mag-employ as a nurse here in the Philippines.”
Her cousin, a BFP personnel, encouraged her to apply for a job in the bureau. She was hired in Manila, and amazingly, majority in her batch were females.
Her first assignment was in the Fire Safety Enforcement Division of the BFP National Office. They were assigned with a buddy, someone who could help them in their daily tasks.
“Kun mag-render kami 24-hour duty, may upod kami buddy nga female… Nag-enjoy gid ako,” Habawel told Panay News.
One of the biggest challenges was the strenuous training. But with “God’s guidance and strong will”, she surpassed it, said Habawel.
“There were also times nga may activity sa school [akon bata]. Bigla nagka-call of duty sa office. Ang ending you would push someone to yaya or whoever ang available,” she said.
The experience was nevertheless “fulfilling.”
BFP also supports gender and development, according to Habawel.
“We have fire truck operators nga babaye, marshals,” she said.
ON FIELD
Aside from administrative work, BFP’s women personnel are also assigned to battle the blaze.
Fire officers Jessa Lynn Gonzaga, 24, and Marian Camposano, 31 are fire truck drivers.
Gonzaga draws inspiration from her father, a BFP personnel in the fire station of Pototan, Iloilo.
She recalled her younger self – a girl amazed by her father’s hard work and dedication.
An Accounting Technology graduate, Gonzaga said there were hardships, especially during training.
“Kon ano ang training sang lalaki, amo man na ang training sang babaye,” she told Panay News.
Camposano, on the other hand, is the city fire truck operator of the BFP-6 though she finished a nursing degree.
“Being a truck driver is not easy. You need to practice driving big vehicles,” she said.
But Camposano found her job inspiring “kay diri naton ma-prove nga indi lang lalaki ang maka-drive, so can women.”
She also posed this challenge to those who aspire to become a BFP firefighter “Kun diin imo nga comfort zone, dira ka lang ya? You have to come out. It’s an honor to be here.”/PN
